Protests across Tarai following Rangeli deaths

DAO at fault for allowing rival functions same day: All-party meet

BIRGUNJ, KALAIYA and BIRATNAGAR, Jan 23: Following the death of three persons during Thursday's clashes in Morang, cadres of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) intensified their protests in different districts of eastern Tarai from Parsa to Morang on Friday.

In Parsa, locals and UDMF cadres staged demonstrations in different locations including Ghantaghar, Powerhouse chowk, Ranighat, Maisthan and Miteri bridge of Birgunj.

Although the market places had opened and transport services resumed for the last two days, they remained shut on Friday due to the protests.

During the demonstrations, a brief clash ensued between protestors and police at Ghantaghar in the morning. Local protestors smashed a window pane of Nepal Telecom office building and torched one of its circuit boxes.

UDMF cadres torch two motorbikes

UDMF cadres torched two motorbikes during demonstrations in Kalaiya, district headquarters of Bara during their demonstrations on Friday.

The UDMF cadres seized the two motorbikes, which were allegedly used for transporting fuel, and burnt them to ashes, according to Bara district police office.

After the UDMF cadres torched the motorbikes, police intervened to douse the fire and the demonstrators clashed with police, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Binod Sharma informed.

Police said they have yet to ascertain the identity of the motorcycle owners.

DAO faulted for allowing rival functions same day: All-party meet

Friday's all-party meet held at the District Administration Office (DAO) in Morang concluded that the Thursday's incident was an attempt to disturb harmony between Pahadi and Madhesi communities. Participating political leaders held the stubbornness of the UDMF and UML leaders responsible for the incident and criticized the parties.

It was a big weakness on the part of the UML to hold a function in Rangeli, according to party leaders attending the all-party meet called by the chief district officer (CDO) of Morang. They also criticized the DAO for not conducting a security assessment before allowing the rival functions.

CDO Toyam Raya informed that a ten-member team has been formed to scrutinize the Rangeli incident.

Meanwhile, the DAO has also said that the administration will prevent any group from organizing public function without first informing the DAO.

"From now on, we'll not allow any group to organize public functions without informing us beforehand," CDO Raya said.